We recently connected with Evelyn Lewis and have shared our conversation below.

Evelyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Ever since I was a very young child I knew that I wanted to be an artist; although I had no idea what that would look like professionally. I used to make drawings for classmates in grade school, and I loved helping my grandfather with illustrations for covers of books he was writing. I was lucky to be raised in a family that valued art and career artists, so it seemed to be my destiny to go to art school for university.

I attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus in fashion illustration and fiber arts, but my makeup artistry naturally found its way into all the media I work in. I’d been doing makeup since I was 14, but had never considered it to be a part of my fine arts practice until college. The idea of being a makeup artist or an illustrator professionally has always been my greatest dream. While other kids my age dreamt of being a veterinarian or an astronaut, I wished to be an animator or a film makeup artist.

At the same time I began considering my makeup my main art practice while in Chicago, I started experimenting with makeup videos for tiktok. I found the creative process of making videos very fulfilling, and it kept me accountable to keep creating even if I was in an art block.

One thing I didn’t expect in becoming active on social media was how much I’d challenge my sense of gender and personal style. As a non-binary artist, it’s incredibly important to me to unpack how doing and wearing makeup is gendered; makeup is expression, but it doesn’t need to be functional or tied to gender at all. When I do makeup professionally, I heavily prioritize editorial projects or shows that emphasize creative makeup rather than function or “beauty” exclusively.

Younger me didn’t realize how difficult it would be to try and pursue art full time, but I couldn’t (and still can’t) imagine myself doing anything else. Being an artist has made me into an adaptable person, and I am always brainstorming for my next collaboration. The most rewarding part of my career is the feeling of satisfaction after wrapping an amazing project with an incredibly talented team.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Evelyn Lewis. I use they/them pronouns, and I’m a multidisciplinary artist who graduated from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2023. I’ve found myself gravitating to the art community my whole life, and I am continuing to find my voice within the industry as a professional. I am an editorial makeup artist professionally, and I am a content creator on Instagram and Tiktok. My other primary art discipline is illustration: mainly fashion and beauty illustration. I use my illustration to inspire my makeup and vise versa.

Makeup is how I learned to love myself, and Illustration is how I examine fashion and beauty on other people. My illustrations sit on a spectrum: narrative on one end to commercial fashion illustration on the other. As my illustration practice has progressed, I’ve found myself working in the middle of that spectrum. My cartoony, surreal style is reinforced through bright color palettes, warped perspective and stylized bodies.

Anytime I take on a makeup project, I will always do an accompanying illustration (sometimes multiple depending on how many looks there are), and I plan out the makeup with the specific model’s features. Any way that I can incorporate more than one medium in my work, I find that the result is more successful and representative of me as an artist.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My greatest piece of advice for folks building a presence on social media is to approach your content from an authentic and joyful standpoint. When you can have fun making the content you want to share online it’s much more natural to build a community of people who see your joy and feel inspired by it. People want to see you have fun, and it’s easier to connect with!

When I first began posting, I would do the fun trending videos with popular sounds, but it didn’t say a lot about who I was- especially as an artist. Once I started posting makeup videos where I was trying something completely separate from what was trending, I found my own voice in the extremely saturated industry that is social media. So, my best piece of advice is to post what you enjoy: approach your content in a content-first mindset rather than views-first mindset. When you are authentic, the views come naturally.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being an artist and making art is self-liberating. Not only can art be used to bring marginalized voices to the forefront, but it has helped me find my own voice as a queer, gender nonconformity individual. It’s liberating to know that when I have a creative vision I can make it happen. My art is so deeply personal, so when I’m creating it gives me a moment to ground myself and practice mindfulness. Beyond the personal fulfillment that I get from creating, I am beyond grateful and still in awe how positively people respond to my art. I feel immensely privileged to even be able to freely share who I am and what I create, but I’m even more fortunate that people feel connected to my content.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.evilest.art/
• Instagram: Number1newyorktimesbestseller
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyn-lewis-a39335282?trk=contact-info
• Other: Tiktok: number1nytbestseller

Image Credits

The first two photos (floral background with head wrap, feature photo, and full body photo with purple tile) credits go to Matt Dickson @mattdicksonphotography on instagram